Dear Riverwest Currents:

My parents (age 80) and I were born and raised in the Riverwest neighborhood. My father's parents operated a grocery store on Keefe Avenue at Weil St. and lived on Burleigh at Palmer Ave. My mother's family owned a sweet shop turned tavern on Bremen and Auer. We all have very fond memories of the neighborhood and are excited about its evolution. Due to health changes, they could no longer keep up with their home on Townsend and Weil. After a short stint away from the area, I returned to Milwaukee to work on the North Avenue Dam Removal Project. We, in addition to their surviving brothers and sisters, are looking forward to Tom Tolan's book. Keep up the excellent work. Your staff's passion for people and history is exemplary and contagious.

P.S. Could you tell me where I can obtain past issues that include Tom Tolan's excerpts? I have the March 2003 issue. The previous issue included a photograph of students at St. Mary's Czestochowa school (yes I can still spell it having graduated from there in 1966). The photo includes my father's brother. I gave a copy to my father and he shared it with his two surviving sisters. Watching their reaction was very uplifting. Can you let me know if you have additional copies in archive?

Sincerely,

William Wawrzyn, Fisheries Biologist
Milwaukee River Basin Team
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Milwaukee

Riverwest Currents - Volume 2 - Issue 4 - April 2003